. >> reporter: north carolina, virginia, and maryland are all under states of emergency. fema is already shipping bottled water, generators and 300,000 meals to north carolina and massachusetts. cape cod is also in the path of earl and home to 500,000 summer residents. >> we could see watches and warnings continue to move up the east coast. that's why it's so important for residents to have evacuation plans ready to go if the evacuation orders are called for. >> reporter: the last time a hurricane posed such a threat to the east coast was in 1991, when hurricane bob caused an estimated $620 million in damage. t.j. winick, abc news, pine knoll shores, north carolina. >>> now to the path of hurricane earl, which is something much of the east coast is keeping a very close eye on. >> no doubt about that. accuweather's ava dinges is tracking the storm for us. good morning, ava. >> good morning, mike and rob. hurricane earl, the first hurricane of the 2010 season to thest, t no contes tcraswavs and surf along the southeast coast. on its heels, tropical storm fiona really not mu